Safety-bridge lock.



"""ITED sT gns AnN so: no

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 15, 1906.

i Application filed February 26, 1906- Serial No. 303,038.

To all whom tummy concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY ALsoP, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, inthe county of Cook and State of Illinois, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Bridge Locks, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in locks for safety-bridges used on stock-cars,

such as illustrated in a patent granted to me December 12, 1905, No. 807,231, and has for its object to produce a simple, cheap, and ef ficient locking device to retain the safetybridge in its vertical or closed position.

To these ends my invention consists in cer* tain novel features of construction, arrange ment, and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the side of a car with parts in section, showing my improvements. Fig. 2 is a detail sectional view showing a modification. Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken through the doorway of the car. Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing another modification. In carrying out my invention I use a safety-bridge A, constructed and arranged as shown in my Patent N 0. 807,231. Hence no detailed construction of this feature need be now given, except that I prefer to use three hinges 64 instead of two, as shown in my aforesaid patent.

B represents a bar of iron pivoted at its center to the outer face of the bridge A near its upper edge. This bar is of such length as to project beyond the side edges of the bridge A and of a length greater than the space between the two upright posts P of the door- Way of the car S. As in my former patent, No. 807,231, the safety-bridge is preferably swung so that when in a vertical position it will be inside the vertical plane of the outer face of the posts of the doorway. In each of the posts P, I cut a wedge-shaped pocket or slot C, the apex orsmaller end of the pocket in the right-hand post-pointing reversely to that in the left-hand post. In other words, the apex or smaller end of the right-hand ocket points upwardly, while that of the eft-hand pocket points downwardly, as shown in Fig. 2.

Assuming that the safety-bridge is in its lowered position and it is desired to close the door-opening, the bridge is carried up to its vertical position and the right end of bar B swung or dropped into the right-hand pocket C, the left end of said bar swinging up into the left-hand wedge-shaped pocket C, whereupon the safety-bridge will be held in its vertical or closed position. I11 order to prevent casual or accidental displacement of the bar B, I provide retaining-guard button D, said button being of metal weighted or enlarged at its lower end and pivoted at its upper end to the right-hand door-post P, so as to swing into the vertical path of the pivoted barB and prevent the upward movement of the right end of barB beyond a certain limit. when it is desired to release the bridge A, the ,buttonDis swung to one side and the end of bar B lifted out of the pocket C, whereupon the bridge may be lowered to form a runway for the stock to leave the car.

Another means of retaining the bar B in place is illustrated in Fig. 2 and consists of bolts E, passing through openings c in the posts P, the outer ends of the bolts being attached to a chain F, fastened to the posts by a staple G. The opening for the bolt retaining the right end of bar B is located adjacent to the upper end of the hand-pocket, While the opening for the bolt retaining the left end of the bar B is located at about the center of the left-hand pocket, so that the left end of the bar will rest upon the inner end of the bolt when it is slid into the left-hand pocket.

With these guard devices it will be practi cally impossible for the bar B to become accidentally displaced when once swung into locking position.

In Fig. 4 I have illustrated still another mode of fastening the safety-bridge in its vertical position. In this form I loosely pivot a hook II to each of the posts P some distance above the upper end of the bridge, and on the outer face of the bridge at suitable points I place diagonally-disposed staples or loops I, into which the free ends of the hooks H drop.

It will thus be seen that I provide simple and efficient means for securing the safetybridge A in its vertical position, which means cannot be reached by the stock within the car S and which can be readily and quickly handled to release the safety-bridge when it is desired to lower the same.

What I claim is 1. In combination with a safety-bridge for stock-cars pivotally hinged at its lower end within the doorway of the car, said doorway provided at its sides with pockets, of a bar pivoted between its ends to the outer face of the safety-bridge, the ends of said bar projecting beyond the side edges of the bridge and adapted to be swung into the aforesaid pockets in the doorway, and retain the bridge in its vertical position.

2. In combination with a safety-bridge for stock-cars pivotally hinged at its lower end within the doorway of the car, said doorway provided at its sides With pockets, of a bar pivoted between its ends to the outer face of the bridge, the ends of said bar projecting beyond the side edges of the bridge and adapted to be swung into the aforesaid pockets, and means applied to side posts of the doorway to be moved into the vertical path of the ends of the bar to prevent accidental displacement of the same.

8. In combination with a safety-bridge for stock-cars pivotally hinged at its lower end within the doorway of the car, said doorway having in its inner faces wedge-shaped ockets reversely arranged, of a bar pivotal y secured between its ends to the outer face of the bridge, the outer ends of said bar projecting beyond the side edges of the bridge and ada ted to be swung into said wedge-shaped poc (ets, to retain the safety-bridge in its vertical position.

4. In combination with a safety-bridge for stock-cars pivotally hinged at its lower end within the doorway of the car, said doorway having in its inner faces wedge-shaped pockets reversely arranged, of a bar pivotally secured between its ends to the outer face of the safety-bridge, the ends of said bar proj ecting beyond the side edges of said bridge and adapted to be swung into the Wedge-shaped pockets, and means so secured to the side posts of the doorway as to be moved into the vertical path of the ends of the pivoted bar to prevent its accidental displacement.

5. In combination with a safety-bridge for stock-cars pivotally hinged at its lower end within the doorway of the car, said doorway having in its inner faces vertical pockets, of a bar pivotally secured between its ends to the outer face of said bridge, the ends of said bar projecting beyond the side edges of said bridge and adapted to be swung into said pockets, and a button pivotally secured at its upper end to one or both of the inner faces of the doorway and swinging over said pockets in the vertical path of the ends of the aforesaid bar.

HENRY ALSOP. Witnesses:

WALTER B. CUNNINGHAM; THOMAS CASEY. 

